US Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Planning

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The recovery of listed species is the cornerstone and ultimate purpose of the endangered species program and an underlying premise of all of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's actions.  It is the process by which listed species and their ecosystems are restored and their future is safeguarded to the point that protections under the Endangered Species Act are no longer needed.  There are multiple steps and aspects to this recovery program to conserve and restore listed species:

• Develop recovery outlines and recovery plans for listed species which are important tools to guide the recovery process and measure progress towards recovery.
• Work collaboratively with partners to implement actions that are considered necessary to recover the species and their habitats.
• Issue recovery permits to allow people to do research that furthers our understanding of listed species for the purposes of assisting in recovery efforts and other conservation related actions with listed species.
• Conduct periodic status assessments, such as 5-year reviews, to monitor the condition of species and their associated threats.
• Reclassify and delist species as their status improves and stabilizes to the point that recovery has been achieved.
• Monitor species for a minimum of 5 years once they have been delisted due to recovery to ensure the lasting effectiveness of management actions and the continuing stability of the species.